Mets Rumors

Multiple Teams Interested In Brett Lawrie

By Connor Byrne | March 7, 2017 at 12:04pm CDT

TUESDAY: The Mets “don’t have any real interest” in Lawrie, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). As he notes, New York does have quite a few depth options in the infield, and it seems the team is pleased with the quality on hand to provide protection for the questionable status of David Wright.

As for the Rays, the club wouldn’t be looking to utilize Lawrie at his accustomed positions of third and second, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Rather than competing for time in those areas, he’d be expected to appear at first base, DH, and perhaps even in the outfield.

Meanwhile, it’s worth wondering whether Toronto’s interest could be impacted by the slow progress being made by Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets, skipper John Gibbons says the club expected Travis to have advanced further by this point but will continue “to be cautious.”

SUNDAY, 4:10pm: The Royals, Mets and Blue Jays also have interest in Lawrie, according to ESPN’s Jim Bowden. A native of Canada, Lawrie played in Toronto from 2011-14.

12:33pm: The White Sox released Brett Lawrie on Friday, but the infielder might not be without a team for long. The Rays will at least consider signing Lawrie, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Now 27, the version of Lawrie who served as one of baseball’s top prospects before torching opposing pitchers as a rookie with the Blue Jays in 2011 (.293/.373/580 in 171 plate appearances) is long gone. A career .261/.315/.419 hitter in 2,417 lifetime PAs, Lawrie slashed a pedestrian .248/.310/.413 in 384 plate trips last season and failed to provide defensive value at second base (minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-5.5 Ultimate Zone Rating).

Lawrie has spent his career at both the keystone and third base, where the Rays have far better starting options in Brad Miller and Evan Longoria, but they find his right-handed bat intriguing, according to Topkin. Moreover, because of injuries, infielders Matt Duffy (shortstop) and Logan Morrison (first base) aren’t locks for Opening Day, so Lawrie could provide the club depth if they do end up unavailable. Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource projects that Tampa Bay will enter the regular season with two out-of-options players, Nick Franklin and Tim Beckham, and minor league signing Rickie Weeks as its infield-capable bench choices. Like Lawrie, all three bat from the right side (Franklin’s the only switch-hitter of the group).

NL Notes: Nationals, Dodgers, Mets

By Connor Byrne | March 5, 2017 at 10:53am CDT

There’s a belief across baseball that the Nationals’ affinity for deferring money in contracts has somewhat hindered their pursuit of talent in free agency and could negatively affect them down the line as they attempt to avoid the luxury tax, according to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. “They’re unique. They’re the only team that operates like this,” an agent told Svrluga, who adds that team ownership won’t comment on its methods. The Nats are set to pay their newest addition, reliever Joe Blanton, $4MM on a one-year deal, but he’ll collect that money through 2019. Among far more expensive examples, starters Max Scherzer (signed through 2021) and Stephen Strasburg (2023) will be on the franchise’s books and through 2028 and 2030, respectively.

More from Washington and two other NL cities:

Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy has long been a control artist, which makes it rather startling that he walked 26 batters in an injury-shortened, 40-inning 2016. McCarthy returned from 2015 Tommy John surgery and also dealt with a hip issue, but it was a case of the yips that led to his spike in walks – including 15 over 8 1/3 innings (three starts) from Aug. 2-13 – as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I think most of it was mechanical,” McCarthy said. “Usually, if you get the shanks in golf, something has gone wrong physically in your swing, and you lose your mental feel for what you are trying to do. It becomes sort of a self-fulfilling thing. I think that was really the extent of it.” McCarthy made a late-season mechanical adjustment and is optimistic the issue is behind him. The 33-year-old is now entering the penultimate season of a four-year, $48MM contract, but he’d have no qualms about retiring and leaving money on the table if he were to lose his desire to pitch. “The day where the motivation is not there to come in and do it, I have no problems ‘Gil Meche-ing it’ and just walking home and leaving it,” said McCarthy, referring to then-Royal Gil Meche’s decision to retire in 2011 and abandon a guaranteed $12MM. (For more on players who have battled the yips, check out FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik’s piece from earlier this week.)
The Mets are doubling down on last year’s roster, writes the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who notes that they’re likely to open the season with 25 players who were on their team in 2016. “It doesn’t feel it’s stale, it feels as if we have consolidated our gains,” general manager Sandy Alderson said of the club’s roster, which managed 87 wins and a playoff berth last season despite myriad injuries. Of the 55 players the Mets invited to camp, just three weren’t in the organization a year ago, and the only newcomer who has much of a chance to make the team is left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, per Sherman.
The Nationals are doing their due diligence on Eric Gagne as the former star closer looks to emerge from his yearslong retirement and return to the majors. Nats special assistant De Jon Watson was on hand at Dodgers camp Saturday to watch Gagne throw, relays Shaikin, who tweets that the right-hander topped out at 91 mph. Now 41, Gagne averaged just over 92 mph on his fastball in 2008, his latest major league action.

NL Notes: Giants, Brewers, Mets

By Connor Byrne | March 4, 2017 at 9:27pm CDT

There was a scary scene during the San Francisco-Kansas City game Saturday in Phoenix, as a line drive off the bat of Royals third baseman/outfielder Hunter Dozier struck Giants first base coach Jose Alguacil in the face, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News was among those to report. Alguacil suffered a fractured nose, a deep facial laceration and fractures in his left eye socket, and he was airlifted to a Phoenix trauma center to undergo surgery. He’s now resting with his family, tweets Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. MLBTR wishes Alguacil a fast recovery as he prepares for his first season on the Giants’ coaching staff.

In lighter news from San Francisco and two other National League cities…

Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto will be able to opt out of his contract after this season, but the longtime ace told Chris Haft of MLB.com that’s not on his mind. “To me, this is just a regular year,” he said. “I signed for five [more] years, and I’m not thinking anything past that. It’s just another year for me.” Cueto will earn $106MM if he sticks with the Giants through 2022, though another great season would put him in prime position to land a more valuable pact next winter. In his age-30 campaign last year, Cueto pitched to a pristine 2.79 ERA, logged a 50.2 percent ground-ball rate and recorded 8.11 K/9 against 1.94 BB/9 in 219 2/3 innings.
Brewers infielder Jonathan Villar addressed his recent decision to turn down a $20MM extension Saturday, telling Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that it wasn’t difficult to reject. “In my house, I feel good,” he said. “I’m comfortable. … I told my family [about the offer], and they told me, ’It’s up to you. If you want, fine. If no, no.’ I can wait for arbitration.” Villar, who will become arbitration eligible next offseason, noted that he doesn’t harbor any ill feelings toward the Brewers. He’ll now try to build on a breakout 2016 in which he slashed .285/.369/.457 with 19 home runs and a major league-best 62 stolen bases over 679 plate appearances.
Given that he was the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason, Mets right fielder Jay Bruce did not expect to return to the club this year, he told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “The whole time I just assumed I was going being traded,’’ said Bruce. “Honestly, the way everything went down, I did not think I would be back. Not to sound like a (jerk), but I knew I was going to be the opening-day right fielder somewhere.” The Mets then informed Bruce in January he’d stick around, which he’s “very, very happy” about. Although Bruce batted a paltry .219/.294/.391 in 187 PAs with the Mets last year after joining the club in a deadline trade with the Reds, his rocky off-field transition from Cincinnati to New York didn’t help matters, Nightengale notes. Bruce stayed in six hotels as a Met down the stretch and was apart from his wife and 4-month-old son, who remained in Texas. The three of them will live in an apartment on New York City’s Upper East Side this year, per Bruce.

Injury Notes: BoSox, Mets, Angels, Rox, Tigers, Braves

By Connor Byrne | March 4, 2017 at 6:10pm CDT

There was fear this week that Red Sox left-hander David Price would need elbow surgery, but those worries were put to rest Friday. It turns out that elbow experts Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache diagnosed Price with a mild flexor strain and some bone spurs, industry sources told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. That Price dodged a more serious injury surprised the doctors, the ace revealed. “They said it multiple times; we expected this to be a lot worse than what it really is,” said Price, who added that Andrews and ElAttrache informed him he has an “extremely unique” elbow. “It’s found a way to kind of heal itself,” he continued. “It’s pretty neat, bionic elbow.” Although Price avoided a season-ending issue, he’s still likely to begin the campaign on the disabled list and miss a to-be-determined amount of starts, according to Abraham. How much time Price misses will largely be up to him, though, as the doctors want the 31-year-old to map out his own recovery program. “I’ll know when I feel good enough to go out there and throw a baseball,” declared Price.

More pitcher-related injury updates:

Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom took the mound Saturday for the first time since last September, when he underwent elbow surgery, and dazzled in two scoreless innings, reports Dan Martin of the New York Post. DeGrom’s average fastball velocity fell from 94.9 mph in 2015 to 93.4 mph last year, but it clocked in between 96 and 97 mph at times Saturday. “When I saw the 97, I looked at (pitching coach) Dan (Warthen) and said, ‘That’s a little special,’” said manager Terry Collins. Naturally, deGrom also came away encouraged. “Last year, it was all I had to get to 92 [mph],” deGrom noted. “It has to do with repeating my mechanics. Last year, I flew open all the time and my arm was dragging.”
Unlike deGrom, Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs endured a rather poor spring debut Saturday, relays Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). In his first outing since undergoing a major injury scare last September, the onetime Tommy John surgery recipient recorded only two outs against four walks. More alarmingly, Skaggs saw his fastball dip from 89 to 92 mph at the beginning of the inning to 86 to 88 mph by the end of it.
Southpaw Chris Rusin is attempting to claim the last spot in the Rockies’ rotation this spring, but those efforts will go on hold for an “extended period,” writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. Rusin hurt his right side in his outing Friday, causing him to leave the game, and will “be out for a while,” manager Bud Black said.
Tigers righty reliever Adam Ravenelle departed the team’s game Saturday with elbow discomfort and will undergo an MRI, skipper Brad Ausmus announced (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Ravenelle, a non-roster invitee whom Baseball America ranks as Detroit’s eighth-best prospect, underwent ulnar nerve surgery in his elbow in 2012, per Woodbery. More recently, the 24-year-old combined for 67 1/3 innings at three different levels last season. The plurality of his work came at Triple-A Toledo, where he put up a 4.85 ERA to go with 6.98 K/9 against 4.85 BB/9 in 29 2/3 frames.
Braves Rule 5 pick Armando Rivero has been dealing with shoulder soreness, though manager Brian Snitker said Saturday that there’s no sign of structural damage, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Braves doctors cleared the righty, previously with the Cubs, to continue throwing and vying for a job with Atlanta. Rivero, 29, pitched to a 2.13 ERA and recorded a sky-high 13.97 K/9 against a bloated 4.66 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016.

Pre-Arb Contracts Of Note: Correa, Syndergaard, Turner

By Jeff Todd | March 3, 2017 at 6:44pm CDT

Every team takes a different approach to the negotiation of contracts with players who have yet to qualify for arbitration. Technically, there’s no obligation to pay them any more than the league minimum salary, which currently sits at $535K. But all teams make some allowance for increases above that amount. Some use formulas with varying inputs; others appear largely ad hoc. Some range well over the minimum; others allow for only de minimis bumps. Read here for more on the process; better still, check out Zach Links’s reporting on the subject from early 2014.

We already learned recently of one notable 2017 pre-arb contract situation, as the Red Sox elected to renew Mookie Betts. A renewal occurs when the club can’t get the player to agree to the salary. The result is the same — the player gets what the team is willing to give — but the player gets to make clear his disapproval. In that case, Betts still received a relatively massive payday, with his $950K salary trailing only Mike Trout (in 2014) among pre-arb players.

Here are a few more notable salaries that have been reported since:

The Astros ended up renewing their own pre-arb star, Carlos Correa, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. But he’ll get quite a bit less than Betts; in fact, for the second straight year, Correa will earn only the league-minimum rate of pay. (To be fair, he’s also one service class behind Betts.) As MLBTR previously reported, Houston has in prior years utilized a formula-based system that allows players to earn relatively meager boosts over the minimum, though it’s not known whether that specific approach is still followed. Clearly, though, Correa — one of the game’s most exciting young talents — would have been offered at least something more than the minimum. Presumably, then, he was docked back down owing to his refusal to sign, which is another element the Astros have reportedly employed. It obviously remains to be seen whether there’ll be any long-term strain on the relationship between player and team, but it’s not hard to see the possibility.
There’s perhaps less cause for angst between the Mets and young ace Noah Syndergaard, who’ll earn $605,500 in 2016 with his renewal, as Heyman tweets. That’s certainly a reasonably significant increase over the minimum, and it falls in line with the team’s prior approach to setting arb salaries, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Syndergaard was hoping to earn a bit more, and declined to sign on to the team’s offer, but New York did not apply any penalty in setting the renewal price. It seems that the relationship between player and team remains harmonious, per Sherman. Syndergaard, unlike Correa, can also look forward to much higher earnings in the near future, as he’s nearly certain to achieve Super Two status.
Finally, the Nationals have agreed to a $554,900 salary with emergent star Trea Turner, according to Heyman (via Twitter). That’s rather a healthy rate of pay for a player who’ll enter the year with just 135 days of service, though Turner’s outstanding half-season of work in 2016 — .342/.370/.567 with 13 home runs and 33 steals over 324 plate appearances — more than justifies such an increase. With Turner’s deal in the books, the Nats were able to line up with all 22 of their arb-eligible players. Looking ahead for the youngster, who’ll be moving back to his accustomed shortstop position this year, the biggest impact on his earnings (beyond his play) won’t be the team’s decision on how much to pay him before he reaches arbitration. Instead, it’ll be whether he can qualify for Super Two status. Without a 2015 cameo in the books, he wouldn’t have much of a shot; as things stand, he’ll be touch-and-go to reach arb eligibility a year ahead of the pack.

East Notes: Price, Norris, Gsellman, Wheeler

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2017 at 11:08am CDT

As the Red Sox await news on the fate of left-hander David Price, ESPN’s Buster Olney runs down the list of options for Boston in the event that Price is forced to sit out part of or all of the 2017 season (ESPN Insider subscription required and recommended). The Sox do still have five big league starters in the form of Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright, though each has come with recent injury troubles. Beyond that, the team is lacking in quality depth options, though Henry Owens, Brian Johnson, Roenis Elias and others are present in Pawtucket. Free agents such as Doug Fister, Colby Lewis and Jake Peavy are still on the market, and Jose Quintana, of course, looms on the trade market. Olney notes that the Red Sox would likely have to utilize top prospect Rafael Devers as the headliner in a theoretical Quintana deal, however.

Beyond that, the Sox could wait to see which of the Dodgers’ plethora of rotation options fails to secure a spot. Similar rotation crunches will arise organically around the league, so Boston could take a more patient approach and see which opportunities materialize as Opening Day draws nearer.

A few more notes pertaining to the game’s Eastern divisions…

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes that the Red Sox’ lack of depth has been obvious all winter and opines that the team took an unnecessary gamble by relying so internal options and not signing more depth. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested to him, however, that Boston’s glut of quality big league arms made it difficult to lure depth options to sign with the Red Sox this winter. Boston couldn’t guarantee any free-agent starter a spot in its rotation and couldn’t even offer much hope of being the first line of defense against an injury. Silverman notes that trading Clay Buchholz in a salary dump could come back to haunt the Sox, but Dombrowski said that even in light of a potential Price injury, he doesn’t regret moving Buchholz when he did. “You’re not going to just hold on to somebody in case things take place later on,” he told Silverman, also adding that it’s difficult to move that much salary this time of year.
The Nationals are trying to move Derek Norris but finding it difficult to drum up interest in the catcher at his current $4.2MM salary, writes Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Castillo reports that the Angels, White Sox and Brewers are all wary of paying that type of money to a catcher that slashed just .186/.255/.328 last season. As FanRag’s Jon Heyman suggested yesterday, the Nats could ultimately just release Norris, as they’d only be on the hook for one-sixth of his salary (about $688K) due to the fact that arbitration salaries aren’t fully guaranteed prior to Opening Day. As for Norris himself, he acknowledged to Castillo that his D.C. days might be numbered but said he’s simply preparing to play the 2017 season somewhere. “It doesn’t change much for me other than the fact that it may or may not be the teammates I’ll be playing with,” said Norris. “So on my end it’s control what I can control. Go out there and play my games and get ready for a season.”
Current indications are that right-hander Robert Gsellman is the leading candidate to occupy the fifth slot in the Mets’ rotation out of Spring Training, tweets the Record’s Matt Ehalt. A source also suggested to Ehalt that righty Zack Wheeler could very well open the year on the disabled list and head to extended Spring Training to continue to build up strength after missing the past two seasons while recovering from 2015 Tommy John surgery. If Gsellman is indeed in the rotation and Wheeler in XST, that’d leave either a long relief/spot starting role or a spot in the Triple-A rotation for Seth Lugo. One can imagine that the spring performances from here on out could still dictate which of Gsellman or Lugo ultimately claims that rotation gig, though. Both were impressive in the debut campaigns last year.

NL East Notes: Mets, Reyes, Nola, Strasburg, Braves

By Jeff Todd | March 2, 2017 at 10:50pm CDT

The Mets face the potential departure of a big portion of their MLB position players after the season, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. But the organization still hopes to fill many holes without going outside the organization. “I don’t think we will have to sign five free agents,” says assistant GM John Ricco. “Some of the answers will come from within, and I think between now and July we will get a better idea of what we have and what we need.” It’s certainly possible to imagine veteran Jose Reyes playing any number of roles this year and beyond; per Ricco, the team is confident that it would be able to work out a new deal to keep him if there’s a sensible role available.

Here’s more from the NL East:

Phillies righty Aaron Nola showed well in his spring debut, representing a notable step in his recovery from an elbow injury, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. Nola, 23, showed good velocity and looked sharp, though perhaps that was to be expected. The big question for Nola and the Phils is whether his arm can stay healthy for the full season to come.
Speaking of the Nola clan, older brother Austin Nola is attempting to convert into a catcher with the Marlins, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Nola, 27, has never really hit much in the minors and struggled to a .261/.308/.376 batting line last year over 407 Triple-A plate appearances. Nevertheless, he was given a 40-man roster spot as he makes the transition to a new position.
Star Nationals hurler Stephen Strasburg will make his own spring debut tomorrow, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. He says he’s feeling healthy after missing the end of the 2016 season with a forearm strain. As ever, Strasburg’s health will be a key factor for the Nats in 2017.
It seems the Braves are leaning toward carrying eight relievers to open the year, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. Roster considerations could be at least a partial consideration, as Atlanta has several out-of-options relievers to consider. Going with a four-man bench would likely leave Kurt Suzuki, Jace Peterson, and Chase d’Arnaud on the roster with Emilio Bonifacio battling with Micah Johnson for the final spot, Bowman writes.

No Timetable For David Wright To Resume Throwing

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2017 at 12:18pm CDT

Mets third baseman David Wright was diagnosed with a shoulder impingement earlier this week, and he told reporters today that a second opinion confirmed the diagnosis of an impingement and instability in his right shoulder (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). More troubling was the fact that Wright said there’s no time frame for his return to baseball activities. Per the New York Post’s Mike Puma (on Twitter), Wright says he is embarking on an “aggressive, time-consuming rehab” of the shoulder.

Originally, Wright was said to be shut down from throwing for at least the next two weeks, though today’s meeting with the media suggests a substantially lengthier absence. He can continue to hit in a batting cage as he rehabs his shoulder.

With Wright on the shelf for an indeterminate amount of time, third base duties will fall to Jose Reyes. While the former shortstop has also been taking some reps in center field to enhance his versatility during Spring Training, he figures to land the majority of the work at the hot corner, with Wilmer Flores and perhaps T.J. Rivera also serving as options. Given the uncertainties across the diamond, where first baseman Lucas Duda has received cortisone injections in both hips after being slowed by pain early this spring, each of Reyes, Flores and Rivera could be in line for larger roles than initially expected. Jay Bruce has been getting a look at first base this spring as well.

[Related: New York Mets Depth Chart]

Wright said today that he still plans to return to the field this season, and per Newsday’s Marc Carig, he made no indication that he’s considering this latest injury the beginning of the end (Twitter link). Per Carig, right called the rehab process “well worth it.”

Once one of the game’s elite players, Wright batted a combined .302/.384/.505 with 208 homers, 177 steals, seven All-Star nods, two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers from 2005-13. His consistent excellence prompted the Mets to sign Wright to an eight-year, $138MM extension, spanning the 2013-20 seasons. However, since a terrific but injury-shortened 2013 season, Wright has batted a more pedestrian .266/.339/.396 in 924 plate appearances across three seasons. He’s averaged 70 games per year over the past three campaigns and battled through a series of injuries, most notably including spinal stenosis and a herniated disk in his neck that required surgical repair last year. He’s owed a total of $67MM over the remaining four seasons on his contract.

NL Notes: Weaver, Salas, Schebler, Holland

By Steve Adams | March 1, 2017 at 10:42pm CDT

The Cardinals announced that right-hander Luke Weaver was removed from today’s Grapefruit League contest due to back spasms (Twitter link). Weaver faced two hitters in the eighth inning of today’s game and retired both before his back acted up. As MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes, manager Mike Matheny said he’s unaware of any previous back problems for Weaver, and the team will re-evaluate the top prospect tomorrow. Weaver is battling fellow righties Michael Wacha and Trevor Rosenthal for the final spot in the St. Louis rotation and is by far the least experienced of the group. So while there’s no indication that the injury is especially serious, any time lost this spring could have an adverse impact on Weaver’s chances of laying claim to that vacant starting job.

A few more notes from around the Senior Circuit as the evening winds down…

Right-hander Fernando Salas has a visa issue that is preventing him from pitching in spring games for the Mets, reports Newsday’s Marc Carig. Salas has already secured the necessary paperwork to pitch for Team Mexico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, so that tournament could give him some needed in-game reps as he prepares for the season. Carig adds in a followup tweet that the Mets expect Salas’ current documentation issue to be resolved sometime next week, so he should be able to pitch with the team upon completion of the WBC, barring any further paperwork complications. Salas, 33, inked a one-year, $3MM deal to return to the Mets in early February on the heels of an excellent showing with the team following last year’s August trade. The veteran setup man tossed 17 1/3 innings with the Mets, yielding just four runs on 11 hits and no walks with 19 strikeouts.
The Reds considered Scott Schebler as more of a left fielder than a right fielder when he was acquired in the 2015 trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox, writes MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, but the 26-year-old has spent a great amount of time working to improve his throwing. As such, the team now views Schebler as a viable option in right field, and he’s in line to get a chance to cement himself as the team’s primary option there in 2017. “It’s one of the things I worked on for quite some time, and it’s getting there,” Schebler told Sheldon. “I would never say I have a cannon. I may never have one, but you work toward that and maybe you end up somewhere in the middle.” Manager Bryan Price said the team has emphasized to Schebler that its preference would be less air underneath his throws, even if it means one-hopping the catcher on throws to the plate. Price praised Schebler for improvements to his arm strength and accuracy — both of which he attributes to mechanical alterations.
Greg Holland won’t make his Cactus League debut for the Rockies until next week, at the earliest, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The 31-year-old threw a 23-pitch simulated game on Tuesday of this week and will throw at least two more sim games before he’s cleared to get into an actual game with his new team, per Saunders. To this point, Holland hasn’t come out and thrown his fastball at 100 percent, though the former Royals closer said he’s building toward that point. Holland is clearly itching to get into a game, calling it “demoralizing” for any competitor to sit out as games are underway. “But you have to understand that there is a right way and there is a science behind this,” Holland told Saunders. “You have to stay patient with it, as hard as it is.” Holland inked a one-year, $7MM deal with the Rox this winter, and his contract also contains a vesting player option that’ll trigger at $15MM if he finishes 30 games or appears in 50 total contests.

NL East Notes: Conforto, Chen, Marlins, Rivero

By Steve Adams | March 1, 2017 at 9:08pm CDT

There’ve been varying reports about the connection Mets’ talks for Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez this winter, the most recent of which suggested that the Mets “seriously discussed” parting with Michael Conforto to acquire Martinez. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, however, was told “emphatically” that the notion was not seriously discussed whatsoever (Twitter links). DiComo notes that New York did indeed touch base with the Tigers and discuss Martinez prior to re-signing Yoenis Cespedes, but the Mets “balked completely” once Conforto’s name was brought up by the Tigers.

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